Call screening system and method

ABSTRACT

A system and method for screening telephone calls to a subscriber telephone number comprises a screening list of telephone numbers assigned to suspect callers and rules defining when a telephone number will be added to or removed from the screening list or ‘greylist,’ and/or modifying a screening value to be assigned to a telephone number in the greylist. Data relating to calls is received from subscribers and processed, and the telephone number is screened in accordance with the rules, based on the screening value assigned to the telephone number and optionally a selected subscriber tolerance level. Subscribers may add any telephone number to a personal list of telephone numbers to be blocked (blacklist) or telephone numbers to be accepted (whitelist).

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to a call screening system. In particular, theinvention relates to an automated system and method for enabling usersto block and manage unwanted calls.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Unsolicited telemarketing calls have been identified by the Canadian andAmerican governments as a serious problem, as is evident in the factthat both countries have initiated the implementation of national ‘donot call lists’ (DNCL). Presently there are no regulations in place tocurtail telemarketing and other unsolicited telephoning activities. Evenif and when such rules are implemented, there will be numerous proposedexceptions to telemarketing rules that will allow charities, politicalparties, polling companies, businesses with existing businessrelationship, and others to telemarket to those listed on the DNCL. Inaddition to those entities who will still be allowed to call numbersregistered on the DNCL, there will likely still be noncomplianttelemarketers who call numbers listed on the DNCL.

Several means of screening and/or blocking unwanted calls, such astelemarketing calls, currently exist. For example, sometelecommunications companies offer call-blocking services which allowsubscribers to manually manage all calls from specific callers orcategory of calls (e.g. all 900 calling codes, all toll-free codes, orall calls where caller identification information is unavailable) thatthe subscriber identifies. The limitation of such call-blocking servicesis that they are static lists with little or no exclusion capabilitiesand may only capture a fraction of the telemarketing calls; the blockingparameters have to be determined in advance; and they may preventdesired calls from reaching the recipient.

There are electronic devices on the market which automatically removethe assigned telephone number of the receiving line from computer dialedtelemarketing call-lists, by sending a tone when the user picks up thecall that falsely indicates to the calling computer that the number isdisconnected, so the computer deletes the phone number. This solutiondoes not spare the user from the disturbance of the call, as the callmust be answered in order for the device to take effect, and is limitedto computer-initiated telemarketing calls. Also, each user cannot takeadvantage of the experience of other users.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In drawings which illustrate by way of example only a preferredembodiment of the invention,

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a list of suspect callers (‘greylist’) andexamples of rules that may be associated with the greylist.

FIGS. 2A, 2B, 2C and 2D illustrate a flowchart depicting one embodimentof a telephone call screen management system (TMG) according to thesystem and method of the invention.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart depicting an embodiment of a post-call managementsystem according to the invention.

FIG. 4 is a schematic illustration of how an inbound call may be treatedin the system of FIGS. 2A, 2B, 2C and 2D.

FIGS. 5A and 5B illustrate a flowchart of the call process flow throughthe call screening system in the system of FIGS. 2A, 2B, 2C and 2D.

FIGS. 6A, 6B, 6C and 6D illustrate flowcharts of the processing optionsof a call flagged as being from a telemarketer (TM) in the system ofFIGS. 2A, 2B, 2C and 2D.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Embodiments of the present invention are described below and illustratedin the Figures by way of example only. As used in the followingdescription, the term “CLID” means “calling line identification number”and refers to a caller's assigned telephone number, whether or not theidentity of the caller can be determined. The telephone number may be aCLID, or may be an Automatic Number Identification (ANI) or a telephonenumber in any other form. The term CLID is used herein solely by way ofexample of a telephone number format which can be used in theimplementation of the invention.

In one preferred embodiment the invention creates a screening listcomprising a dynamic list of suspect CLIDs, or “greylist,” comprising alist of CLIDs, for example in the form of telephone numbers inconformance with the North American Numbering Plan (NANP), or in anyother desired format, along with score ratings as to the likelihood ofthe CLID being that of a telemarketer (TM) or other unwanted caller. Thegreylist may be stored in a database maintained by the service providerat a central office or node, for example as a lookup table, and in thepreferred embodiment is made accessible to all subscribers to the callscreening feature. The service provider may typically be a telephonecompany (Telco), and for ease of description the term ‘Telco’ will beused by way of example throughout this description when referring to theservice provider, but the service provider can be any entityadministering the call blocking feature whether in a conventionaltelephone system, VOIP system, or otherwise.

The screening list or “greylist” comprises CLIDs which one or more usershave identified as belonging to a telemarketer or other undesirablecaller, as determined by the service provider or system administrator.The screening list can also be created and/or updated by the serviceprovider entering call data into the system, for example through one ormore algorithms which can identify which of the users in the system maybe a telemarketer, examples of which are set out below. The users of thesystem can manage the incoming CLIDs by utilizing a list of acceptableCLIDs or ‘whitelist’ (WL) that the user has identified as being friends,family or other acceptable callers; and a list of unacceptable CLIDs or‘blacklist’ (BL) that the user has identified as unwanted callers. Theblacklist and whitelist may be stored in a client database maintained atthe Telco server, and optionally also stored locally at the subscriber'spremises in order to reduce the need for communications between theTelco and the subscriber when determining how to treat an incoming call.

According to the invention, the whitelist and blacklist are personal tothe subscriber, while the greylist is a communal list, common to allsubscribers to the call block system. Thus, depending upon the rulesadopted by the service provider or system administrator, a caller may bemoved to the greylist by the event of being added to one or moresubscriber's blacklists, either over a specific time interval or merelycumulatively.

In an embodiment the invention may comprise a computer program productembodied on a tangible medium for operation on telecommunicationshardware for carrying out a method of screening telephone calls, theprogram product operative to carry out the steps of: a. maintaining onmemory in the telecommunications hardware, a screening list of telephonenumbers assigned to suspect callers; b. storing on memory in thetelecommunications hardware, one or more rules defining when a caller'sassigned telephone number will be added to or removed from the screeninglist, or modifying a screening value to be assigned to a caller'sassigned telephone number on the screening list, or both; c. receivingdata relating to suspect callers; d. applying the one or more rules tothe data; e. adding to or removing from the screening list the caller'sassigned telephone number, or modifying the screening value assigned tothe caller's assigned telephone number, or both, based on theapplication of the one or more rules to the data; and f. screening acall from the caller's assigned telephone number to a subscriber inaccordance with one or more rules based on the caller's assignedtelephone number being in the screening list or on the screening valueassigned to the caller's assigned telephone number, or both.

FIG. 1 illustrates examples of some rules that can be implemented tocreate and maintain the greylist. It will be appreciated that theserules are provided by way of non-limiting example solely to illustratethe principles of the invention.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, the greylist comprises a sublist of CLIDs withtheir associated modifiable scores. The first sublist is populatedautomatically by applying rules to database queries. These rules may forexample include the following:

-   -   1. Add to the greylist any CLID that makes over X₁ number of        calls over Y₁ timeframe to Z₁ number of people;    -   2. Add to the greylist any CLID that has been added to X₂ number        of user blacklists over a time interval of Y₂;    -   3. Remove from the greylist any CLID that has not been added to        any user blacklists and who's greylist score has not increased        over a time interval of Y₃; and/or    -   4. Remove from the greylist any CLID that has been added to X₄        number of user whitelists (users' independent lists of CLIDs        that they have identified as being friends or family, stored on        the client database) in Y₄ timeframe,        where the variables X, Y, and Z are threshold values set by the        Telco (or other service provider or administrator of the        system).

Whereas each individual subscriber determines whether a CLID should beassigned to his or her blacklist or whitelist, and effects this bymanual assignment of a CLID to a particular list (for example usingtheir dial pad or a voice recognition menu system), rules such as theseare used to automatically assign a CLID to the greylist. In thisembodiment, a CLID is added to the greylist based on data received fromone or more subscribers (as dictated by the rules) and is assigned aninitial score or ‘screening value’ by default. The screening value of aparticular CLID is modified as further data relating to the CLID isreceived from subscribers. Once on the greylist, the CLID is flagged asa potential telemarketer (or other unwanted caller) for all subscribersto the system. Thus, the more subscribers there are, the faster unwantedcallers become listed on the greylist and the entire community ofsubscribers benefits from the experiences of the other subscribers.

Preferably the greylist is associated with a second sublist that ispopulated by the service provider setting the scores associated withparticular CLIDs. These scores cannot be modified by user input. Onepurpose for this sublist may be to store CLIDs that should never beflagged as a telemarketer, for example, essentially creating a “globalwhitelist.” For example, it may be desirable to ensure that certainCLIDs associated with government departments, police, telephonecarriers, etc., and/or the service provider itself, are never blockedand cannot be inadvertently assigned to a greylist or blacklist.

The greylist is maintained and managed by the service provider, forexample a Telco. No hardware other than the telephone equipment normallyused by the user at their premises to make and receive telephone callsis required. A conventional telephone set may be modified to store thewhitelist and/or blacklist, which as noted above will allow thesubscriber's equipment to determine how to treat an incoming callwithout the need for communications between the Telco and thesubscriber. However, in an embodiment of the invention the decision toroute or block the call can be made at a routing point, for example theTelco's central office or node.

As shown in FIG. 4, the client database is part of the serviceprovider's network and stores the user's telephone number, whitelist andblacklist amongst other things. It exchanges data with the serviceprovider's information services system and provides the greylist withdata such as query results. When a customer subscribes to the callscreening service, and thereby becomes a user, a record identifying thesubscriber and associated with the subscriber's assigned telephonenumber is added to the client database.

An exemplary embodiment of the invention is explained below by way ofnon-limiting example, in accordance with the exemplary embodiment shownin the drawings. It will be appreciated that the particular selection ofparameters such as keystrokes, menus, functions, prompts, commands andothers may be varied without departing from the principles of theinvention, and the invention is not intended to be limited thereby.

A user can add CLIDs to their blacklist and whitelist by manuallyentering the phone numbers to be accepted or blocked, for example usingthe dial pad on their telephone via the call screen management system(as shown in FIG. 2) or by reporting the last caller through the same ora separate call screen management system after the call is complete (asin FIG. 3). To gain access to the call screen management system menu,the user dials a unique preset code, e.g., “*555.” In either case thisinformation is communicated to the Telco server, which applies the rulesto the data received from the subscriber to add the CLID to the greylist, remove the CLID from the grey list, or modify the screening valueor ‘score’ assigned to the CLID on the greylist, which facilitates theability to set individual subscriber tolerance levels.

The following are some tools which may be accessed through menus in anautomated attendant system. These examples are provided solely forillustrative purposes and are not to be construed as essential or anexhaustive list.

When the call screen management system is first accessed, the user willbe guided by an automated attendant (such as is commonly known to thoseskilled in the art) through a series of menus to set up their callscreening system. The user will hear a voice message indicating thestatus of their call screen management service, then a pre-recorded mainmenu, indicating to the user which number to press on their dial pad tochange certain settings in the system. FIGS. 2A, 2B, 2C and 2D depict anexample of how the menu system can work in this embodiment of theinvention. The user can be presented with the option of pressing “1” toaccess the Enable/Disable setting, pressing “2” to set the tolerance tobe applied to the greylist scores (various thresholds for the listtransfer parameters may be established by the telco), pressing “3” toset the desired method of treating the call, pressing “4” to add atelemarketing number to the user's blacklist and have the numberreported to the greylist database, pressing “5” to identify a number tobe added to the whitelist, pressing “6” to remove a number from theuser's whitelist or blacklist, or pressing “7” to exit the call screenmanagement system, etc.

In an example of a submenu, if the user presses “1” from the main menu,they would be presented with the options of pressing “1” to turn thecall screening system on, or pressing “2” to turn the call screeningsystem off. If the user then presses “1” they would hear a pre-recordedmessage confirming that the system has been enabled. If the user presses“2” they would hear a pre-recorded message confirming that the systemhas been disabled. The user would then be redirected to the main menu.

If the user presses “2” from the main menu to set their desired greylisttolerance, they would be presented with the option of pressing “1” tonever allow any calls through from CLIDs that have ever been marked as atelemarketer, pressing “2” to only allow callers through who have ascore less than β₁, pressing “3” to only allow callers through who havea score less than β₂ (where β₂>β₁), or pressing “*” to return to themain menu. β₁ and β₂ are threshold score values set by the serviceprovider for the low score tolerance and the medium score tolerancerespectively. If the user selects anything other than “*” theirselection will be confirmed and they will be redirected to the mainmenu.

If the user presses “3” from the main menu to set how they wish tohandle calls screened by the system, they will be presented with theoptions of pressing “1” to end the call (either immediately or after apredetermined interval, as shown), without the call ringing through,pressing “2” to require the caller to announce their identity and allowthe user to accept or reject the call, pressing “3” to play a messageindicating that the user does not accept telemarketing calls and to thenpass the call through as a conventional call, pressing “4” to play amessage indicating that the user does not accept telemarketing calls andto then send the caller through to the voicemail (VM) system (if theuser has subscribed to such service), or pressing “*” to return to themain menu. If the user selects anything other than “*”, their selectionwill be confirmed and they will be redirected to the main menu.

If the user pressed “4” from the main menu, they will be prompted toenter the 7- or 10-digit telephone number of the telemarketer (TM) theywant to add to their blacklist and thereby have reported to thegreylist. The user will have the option of pressing “*” to return to themain menu. If the user enters a valid 7- or 10-digit number and there isroom available on the user's blacklist, the number will be read back tothe user and the user will be prompted to confirm that they want to addthe number to their blacklist. If the user confirms that they wish toadd the number to their blacklist, the number is added to the blacklistand a message is played to indicate that the number has been so added.The user will then be redirected to the main menu. If the user does notwish to proceed with adding the number that they entered onto theirblacklist, they will be redirected back to the blacklist submenu. If thenumber that they enter is invalid, a message will be played to indicatethat the number is invalid and the user will be redirected back to theblacklist submenu. If there is insufficient room on the user's blacklistfor the number, an error message will be played and the user will beredirected to the main menu.

If the user pressed “5” from the main menu, they will be prompted toenter the 7- or 10-digit telephone number of the friend or familymember, or other acceptable caller, which they want to add to theirwhitelist. The user will have the option of pressing “*” to return tothe main menu. If the user enters a valid 7- or 10-digit number, thenumber will be read back to the user and the user will be prompted toconfirm that they want to add the number to their whitelist. If the userconfirms that they wish to add the number to their whitelist and thereis room available on the user's whitelist, a message will be played toindicate that the number has been so added. The user will then beredirected to the main menu. If the user does not wish to proceed withadding the number that they entered onto their whitelist, they will beredirected back to the whitelist submenu. If the number that they enteris invalid, a message will be played to indicate that the number isinvalid and the user will be redirected back to the whitelist submenu.If there is insufficient room on the user's whitelist for the number, anerror message will be played and the user will be redirected to the mainmenu.

If the user pressed “6” from the main menu, they will be prompted toenter the 7- or 10-digit telephone number of the party they wish toremove from either their whitelist or blacklist. The user will have theoption of pressing “*” to return to the main menu. If the user enters avalid 7- or 10-digit number, the number will be read back to the userand the user will be prompted to confirm that they want to remove thenumber from their whitelist or blacklist. If the user confirms that theywish to remove the number from their whitelist or blacklist, a messagewill be played to indicate that the number has been removed. The userwill then be redirected to the main menu. If the user indicates thatthey do not wish to proceed with removing the number that they entered,they will be redirected back to the submenu for removing a number. Ifthe number that they enter is invalid, a message will be played toindicate that the number is invalid and the user will be redirected backto the submenu for removing a number.

The call screen management system may also provide the user with theoption of hearing the numbers or names associated with the numbers ontheir blacklist and/or whitelist.

By entering another preset series of keystrokes, for example a *-numbercode, the user can access a post-call management tool that will add thelast caller to their blacklist or whitelist (as in FIG. 3). Once theuser gains access to this tool by dialing the assigned series ofkeystrokes, they will be given the option of reporting the last calleras a telemarketer and adding the number to their blacklist, or addingthe last caller to their whitelist if the last CLID is valid. The userwill then be prompted to confirm that they wish to take the actionrequested. If the user affirms their request and there is room on theappropriate list, the number will be added to the appropriate list. Ifthe user responds in the negative, they will be redirected to the mainmenu. If there is no room left on the list to add another number, anerror message will be played and the call management session terminated.If the last CLID is invalid, an error message will be played and thecall management session will be terminated.

All of the settings selected by the user may be stored in the clientdatabase at the Telco server.

At any menu, if the user fails to make a selection, the menu will replaya preset number of times and await a selection, failing which thesession is terminated.

FIGS. 5A and 5B show how an inbound call may be processed. When aninbound call is detected, the system first checks to see that the CLIDis valid, then the call screening system will look up the recipienttelephone number in the client database and retrieve the user'ssettings. If the database indicates that the user has disabled the callscreening system, the inbound call does not have a valid CLID, or thecaller's CLID is on the user's whitelist, the inbound call will beconnected to the recipient as any conventional call.

If the call screening system is enabled and the inbound call has a validCLID, the Telco server software will conduct a lookup to determinewhether the CLID is on the various lists maintained by the system. Ifthe CLID is on the global or user's whitelist, the Telco server softwarewill route the call through to the subscriber telephone line. If thecaller's CLID is on the user's blacklist, then the incoming call isautomatically terminated.

If the CLID is already on the greylist, the Telco server software willretrieve the current score associated with the CLID on the greylist. Ifno entry is found for the CLID, the Telco software will add it to thegreylist and assign a default score of 1 to the CLID. If the score isbelow the level of tolerance selected by the subscriber, the call isrouted to the subscriber as a conventional call. If the score is equalto or above the level of tolerance selected by the user, the call isflagged and the call treatment selected by the user is applied, as shownin FIG. 6A pre-selected the option of ending calls flagged as being froma telemarketer, the call is terminated (either immediately or after apredetermined interval).

If the user pre-selected the option of sending flagged calls tovoicemail, the pre-recorded message addressed to telemarketers is playedto the caller (as illustrated in FIG. 6C). The caller is then presentedwith the option of pressing “1” to record a voice message to therecipient or pressing “2” to end the call. If the caller enters “1”,they are put on hold for an interval proportional to the greylist score(sometimes known as “tarpitting”) before being forwarded to the user'svoicemail service. If the caller pressed “2”, the call is terminatedimmediately.

If the user pre-selected the option of accepting telemarketing calls(the default setting illustrated in FIG. 6D), the pre-recorded messageaddressed to telemarketers is played to the caller, then the caller willbe presented with the option of pressing “1” to proceed with the call orpressing “2” to end the call. If the caller enters “1”, they are put onhold for a period of time proportional to the greylist score beforebeing passed through to the user as a conventional call. If no messagehas been recorded by the caller, the call is terminated. If “2” isselected, the call is terminated.

If the user pre-selected the option of requesting that a greylist callerannounce themselves (as illustrated in FIG. 6B), a pre-recorded messagewill be played to the caller giving the caller the option of pressing“1” to leave a message announcing their identity for the recipient, orpressing “2” to end the call. If the user presses “1” they will beprompted to record a message. The screening system will then call thesubscriber and play the recorded message, optionally identifying thecaller as a potential telemarketer. If the call is not answered, thecall will continue as a conventional call, perhaps being redirected tothe user's voicemail system. If the call is answered, the user will thenbe given the option to press “1” to receive the call, press “2” toforward the call to voicemail, press “3” to terminate the call, or press“4” to play a pre-recorded message that the user does not accepttelemarketing calls and then terminate the call.

Internet telephony subscribers may have the option of accessing theircall screen management tool via the service provider's website. Similarsettings can be presented through that medium.

In a further embodiment of the invention, all CLIDs are maintained inthe greylist with a default screening value, and the screening value ofa particular CLID is modified as data relating to the CLID is receivedfrom subscribers.

Various embodiments of the present invention having been thus describedin detail by way of example, it will be apparent to those skilled in theart that variations and modifications may be made without departing fromthe invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of screening telephone calls,comprising: a. maintaining a screening list of telephone numbersassigned to suspect callers; b. storing one or more rules defining whento modify a screening value assigned to the caller's assigned telephonenumber on the screening list; c. maintaining, in association with eachof the plurality of subscribers, a blacklist of caller's assignedtelephone numbers which are blocked and a whitelist of caller's assignedtelephone numbers which are not blocked; d. receiving data relating tosuspect callers, wherein some of the data is received from a pluralityof subscribers, wherein some of the data is received from a serviceprovider, a system administrator or a combination thereof, and whereinsome of the data is received from the blacklists and whitelistsassociated with the plurality of subscribers; e. applying the one ormore rules to the data; f. modifying the screening value assigned to thecaller's assigned telephone number, based on the application of the oneor more rules to the data and g. screening a call from the caller'sassigned telephone number to one of the subscribers in accordance withthe one or more call screening rules based on the caller's assignedtelephone number being in the screening list or on the screening valueassigned to the caller's assigned telephone number, or both and acomparison of the screening value assigned to the caller's assignedtelephone number and a subscriber tolerance level.
 2. The method ofclaim 1 wherein one of a plurality of options for blocking, allowing orannouncing the call is performed based on the subscriber tolerancelevel.
 3. A system for screening telephone calls to a subscribertelephone number, comprising: at least one database, for maintaining ascreening list of telephone numbers assigned to suspect callers and oneor more rules defining when modify a screening value to be assigned tothe caller's assigned telephone number on the screening list, and formaintaining, in association with each of the plurality of subscribers, ablacklist of caller's assigned telephone number which are blocked and awhitelist of caller's assigned telephone numbers which are not blocked;and a data processing device, for receiving data relating to suspectcallers, wherein some of the data is received from a plurality ofsubscribers, some of the data is received from, a service provider, asystem administrator or a combination thereof, and some of the data isreceived from the blacklists and whitelists associated with theplurality of subscribers, and applying the one or more rules to thedata, and to modifying the screening value assigned to the caller'sassigned telephone number based on the application of the one or morerules to the data; and screening a call from the caller's assignedtelephone number to one of the subscribers in accordance with one ormore call screening rules, based on the screening value assigned to thecaller's assigned telephone number, and a comparison of the screen valueassigned to the caller's assigned telephone number and a subscribertolerance level.
 4. The system of claim 3 wherein the data processingdevice screens a call from the caller's assigned telephone number to asubscriber based on a preset subscriber tolerance level.
 5. A computerprogram product embodied on a tangible medium for operation ontelecommunications hardware for carrying out a method of screeningtelephone calls, the program product operative to carry out the stepsof: a. maintaining on memory in the telecommunications hardware, ascreening list of telephone numbers assigned to suspect callers; b.storing on memory in the telecommunications hardware, one or more rulesdefining when to modify a screening value to be assigned to the caller'stelephone number on the screening list, c. assigning the caller'sassigned telephone number to a blocked caller list or to a list ofacceptable callers based on input by a subscriber to thetelecommunications hardware; d. receiving data relating to suspectcallers, wherein some of the data is received from a plurality ofsubscribers, wherein some of the data is received from a serviceprovider, a system administrator or a combination thereof, and whereinsome of the data is received from the blacklists and whitelistsassociated with the plurality of subscribers; e. applying the one ormore rules to the data; f. adding to or removing from the screening listthe caller's assigned telephone number, or modifying the screening valueassigned to the caller's assigned telephone number, or both, based onthe application of the one or more rules to the data; and g. screening acall from the caller's assigned telephone number to one of thesubscribers in accordance with one or more call screening rules based onthe caller's assigned telephone number being in the screening list or onthe screening value assigned to the caller's assigned telephone number,and a subscriber tolerance level based on the screening value.
 6. Thecomputer program product of claim 5 wherein one of a plurality ofoptions for blocking, allowing or announcing the call is performed basedon the subscriber tolerance level.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein thedata received from the plurality of subscribers include caller'sassigned telephone numbers common to plural subscribers blacklists. 8.The system of claim 3, wherein the data received from the plurality ofsubscribers include caller's assigned telephone numbers common to pluralsubscribers blacklists.
 9. The computer code product of claim 5, whereinthe data received from the plurality of subscribers include caller'sassigned telephone numbers common to plural subscribers blacklists. 10.A method of screening telephone calls, comprising the steps of: a.maintaining a common screening list of telephone numbers assigned tosuspect callers; b. storing one or more rules defining when a caller'sassigned telephone number will be added to or removed from the commonscreening list; or and modifying a screening value to be assigned to thecaller's assigned telephone number on the screening list, or both; c.receiving data relating to suspect callers, wherein some or all of thedata is received from a plurality of subscribers, a service provider, asystem administrator or a combination thereof and wherein the data isalso related to a suspect callers' interaction with plural subscribersof the plurality of subscribers; d. applying the one or more rules tothe data; e. adding to or removing from the common screening list thecaller's assigned telephone number, or and modifying the screening valueassigned to the caller's assigned telephone number, or both, based onthe application of the one or more rules to the data; and f. screening acall from the caller's assigned telephone number to one of the pluralityof subscribers in accordance with one or more call screening rules basedon the caller's assigned telephone number being in the common screeninglist or and on the screening value assigned to the caller's assignedtelephone number, or both wherein the common screening list is the samefor the plurality of subscribers.